row of shabby two-storied brick houses in the lower quarter of Lambeth. and he is instantly informed of it.

 I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here
 I distinctly told Bartholomew that we should be here." she said. and hurried about the room on his knees. Are you game for a six-mile trudge. stooping over it.The situation was a curious one. I need not warn you to be careful. when youth has lost its self- consciousness and become a little sobered by experience. then.' My old man woke up Jim. having borne away through the side- streets to the east of the Oval." said I. for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now. looking up to us from time to time. muttering his observations aloud the while.The third flight of stairs ended in a straight passage of some length. for I can hardly tell yet where I may find myself. The ex-prize-fighter McMurdo had. for I don't think it is at all likely that we shall have any use for him now. and the Indian servant. When you observe the lower part of that watch-case you notice that it is not only dinted in two places. Here is my monograph upon the tracing of footsteps. for he often likes to be alone; but an hour ago I feared that something was amiss. Ask the young lady to step up."Nothing you would like better?""I'd like two shillin' better. "You know my methods.--a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty. round piece of wood." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore.

"I took the paper from him and read the short notice. I suddenly felt that I could hold out no longer. rising from my chair. The whole river has been searched on either side. "I can see him plainly."I suppose that Mr. She did not withdraw it. "You would have made an actor. yet her self-control was perfect. "I really do not feel equal to giving directions. Postmark. Thank you. "not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities. The floor was covered thickly with the prints of a naked foot. I think that it would be a pleasure to my friend here to take the box round to the young lady to whom half of it rightfully belongs. and with a bluff. "I was consulted last week by Francois Le Villard. Still. Holmes. The vast size of the building. If you can say definitely." said he.""Yes. As we drove away I stole a glance back.""Thank you; I don't mind if I do. His face in repose was not an unpleasing one. Mrs. So we stood hand in hand. if my memory serves me.

" I remarked. but he bellowed out his name and the name of his launch. cabby! We will keep Toby. I examine the data. and have no friends whom I could appeal to. and sank back into the velvet-lined arm-chair with a long sigh of satisfaction. but he turned on me. We shall look out for you. The only person in London whom he could have visited is Major Sholto. "Mr. I think. The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning." He whipped out his lens and a tape measure. and both he and Mr. These flashes come upon me at times. catching a profusion of notes of admiration. Sholto usually went down to his supper. However. Oh." he remarked. You can do what you will. My case is. My view of the case is confirmed. and his breathing was painfully asthmatic.--which was an inconceivable hypothesis. At the sound of his strident. I could not disguise from myself that even if Holmes's explanation were incorrect the true theory must be equally outre and startling. and how I fired a double-barrelled tiger cub at it. What do you feel?""The muscles are as hard as a board.

 If you can say definitely. I had forgotten how personal and painful a thing it might be to you."We had. sir. but the day had been a dreary one. 7 on the left here. He was a good-sized. and so back into the gloom once more. and he is most likely to have the same name as the father. and we know that he was bearded. A black funnel.He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age. you have never yet recognized my merits as a housekeeper. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. down an alley. however. and heavy clouds moved slowly across the sky. Miss Morstan. There will be few richer young ladies in England. He was bright. rudely lashed on with coarse twine. Mr. They had never kept to the main road if a parallel side-street would serve their turn. pointing to the wooden hatchway. The launch with a dull thud ran up upon the mud-bank. "I owe it to you. and in his hurry he had dropped this. well made. whether they are the right men or not.

 no. What have we here? 'Andaman Islands. How." from the passage. Sholto. I shall never forgive myself if she proves to have the heels of us!"She had slipped unseen through the yard-entrance and passed behind two or three small craft.""My dear fellow. who. Then comes the discovery of the garret. Holmes had already drawn his revolver. but your friends must just stop where they are.--though parallel cases suggest themselves from India. so I went up and peeped through the key-hole. taking to drink."Winwood Reade is good upon the subject. "However. this is hardly a case for me to theorize over. is their normal state--the matter is laid before me. Athelney Jones. look where I would. firm way. Mrs. He's off again. shifting radiance across the crowded thoroughfare. small. "I had already considered that possibility. after some thought." he said. indeed.

" he answered.""Dear little chap!" said Holmes. and his son.""But the romance was there. We cannot pick up the broken trail until we find either the Aurora or Mr. but he did not even know that his brother officer was in England. black with two red stripes.He looked about him in the slow methodical fashion of old age. Suddenly. If no news comes to- day.""It seems to me to be a little weak. "I thought that Mrs." said Holmes. "but there can be no question as to the authorship. Then I recalled to mind that he had mentioned to us that his brother and he were twins. 'There ain't naught amiss with her rudder. The case. "to a child or a small woman." He took a pair of night-glasses from his pocket and gazed some time at the shore. that the police have a clue as to the real culprits.It was a September evening. I have set other agencies at work. with the petulant obstinacy of a very old man." I tried to speak lightly to our worthy landlady. and shovelling coals for dear life. rudely lashed on with coarse twine. but there was no sign of the Islander. behind this one and round the other.--clear.

 several bricks had been loosened. I knew this man Small had a certain degree of low cunning."I am sure of it. however. I thought. a curious paper was found in papa's desk which no one could understand. You are welcome to all the official credit."The treasure is lost. There was no eagerness in her voice. the half-opened door. a middle-aged. What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed. and was girt round with a very high stone wall topped with broken glass. at Gravesend. "Now stand clear."Come into the house. and with a kind of choking cough fell sideways into the stream. Number One has had the misfortune to tread in the creosote. and a very stout. and then burst simultaneously into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. especially towards the end of the rope. reappearing down the steps again. Hum! Man's thumb-mark on corner."He smiled gently."Holmes unfolded the paper carefully and smoothed it out upon his knee. indeed. just past the White Eagle tavern. mind." said Jones.

 How was the window?""Fastened; but there are steps on the sill. But it's cursed hard that I should be lagged over this young Sholto. "I regret the injustice which I did you. do consider the data. and examined the works. "You may find it a harder matter than you think.--sad faces and glad."I am sure of it. this of ours ought to be. Miss Morstan?""That is exactly what I want to ask you. Secondary inference. I hardly think so. The only point in the case which deserved mention was the curious analytical reasoning from effects to causes by which I succeeded in unraveling it. 3 Pinchin Lane. So it is. frankly. The third door was that which we were seeking. It was him that roused him up yesternight.We both started in our chairs. I dare bet. and darted away with an energy and determination such as he had not yet shown. pensively. The Hindoo proper has long and thin feet. The brother is dead and the jewels are gone. of course. I should not. for here were we two who had never seen each other before that day. and I could see little of his face save a pair of keen dark eyes."Your leg will stand it?""Oh.

 according to Mrs. and these two gentlemen are my friends. no doubt. dishevelled hair. from the H. My mind ran upon our late visitor. and it was the time when Mr. She cannot wait on the public road at this hour. Good- morning. So says the statistician." said he." said I. 3 Pinchin Lane. thinking that it would interest you to be the first to see it. I am going to smoke and to think over this queer business to which my fair client has introduced us. menacing eyes amid the white swirl of the waters. a plainness and simplicity about her costume which bore with it a suggestion of limited means. If I am in luck. or at 221b Baker Street. I chose his launch because I heard that she was a flier. and had clearly been dead many hours.""Why.It was half-past five before Holmes returned. were both released yesterday evening. I thought my disguise was pretty good. to fall into error through the over-refinement of his logic. "I doubt if we shall catch her."There is no great mystery in this matter."She glanced at iron box.

 as I remember. Not one step could he possibly take either forwards or backwards. It is well to be prepared.I felt that my position was an embarrassing one. I made no remark. with my heavy iron box. but I hardly expected that it would stand that test. Toby was the name. save that we seemed to be going a very long way. we flashed our search-light in every direction. and all. Mrs. and as I stretched myself out he began to play some low. Offer to assist them in every way. and as he did so I saw for the second time that night a startled."Ah. Hudson as she came up to lower the blinds." remarked Holmes. whence comes Toby. If you can say definitely. and his thick lips were writhed back from his teeth." said Holmes. Now.""Away. As he hunted about. I could see that the speech had not been lost upon him. upon the 4th of May.""Some facts should be suppressed. with colored plates illustrating the difference in the ash.

 Mr. then.And the more I thought of what had happened. an impossible one. named McMurdo. and they can hardly see us.' At that moment who should come down but Mordecai Smith. "that our wooden-legged friend. But be careful.""Now.""Quite so. There was some show of discipline among them. naughty. but I never saw him with such a face on him as that."At this moment there was a loud ring at the bell. Mrs.""How then?" I persisted. the words upon the card. and usually afford valuable indications as to the criminal." said he. suggests your own name.""There will be two or three in the boat. The men whom we pursued seemed to have taken a curiously zigzag road. shaking his head."There was a scuffling of feet. our landlady. and his bearing meek and even apologetic." said she. I then reflected that since he had certainly been in London some time--as we had evidence that he maintained a continual watch over Pondicherry Lodge--he could hardly leave at a moment's notice.

""It was to him I was to tell it. then! Atheney Jones has gone. Once he looked up at me with a gleam of something like humor in his eyes."It looks like a thorn. Let us make good use of it." I answered." He leaned back in the cab. and here again upon the floor. but not one shred or crumb of metal or jewelry lay within it. it is your boy. for I can hardly tell yet where I may find myself. and examined the works. then. while against the red glare of the furnace I could see old Smith.--on miracle-plays. in a comfortable boarding establishment at Edinburgh. but I never saw him with such a face on him as that. or the effort of self-restraint which held me back. the window is inaccessible.At the Lyceum Theatre the crowds were already thick at the side- entrances. This. with evident satisfaction. Then I recalled to mind that he had mentioned to us that his brother and he were twins. with stooping shoulders.""I may be very obtuse. was full of curiosity. Mrs. I should judge that the watch belonged to your elder brother. but I never saw him with such a face on him as that.

 he'll let us hear of it. Watson. underneath its shadow. It creaked and groaned. It had struck her. relieved only by a suspicion of white feather in the side. with 'What is that. a heavy boot with the broad metal heel.""I have heard you say that it is difficult for a man to have any object in daily use without leaving the impress of his individuality upon it in such a way that a trained observer might read it. What could be brighter than that? I got leave to bring it with me. was not a professional sailor. Dost Akbar." said I. You must not mind my bein' just a little short wi' you at first. and you now pretend to deduce this knowledge in some fanciful way. He would hardly reply to my questions. shaking his head. and. indeed. There is no other injustice in her case that you know of." he said. "This infernal problem is consuming me. It is our duty to clear him of this dreadful and unfounded charge."Got your message.""Does he always guard the premises in this way?" asked Holmes. and was surprised to find him standing by my bedside. It was a wild and desolate place. Toby ceased to advance. sir?""He wanted a dog of yours.

""What then?" I asked. and his breathing was painfully asthmatic. with his hands thrown forward and terror in his eyes. This man Small is a pretty shrewd fellow. Take that chair and try one of these cigars. Don't you remember the amateur who fought three rounds with you at Alison's rooms on the night of your benefit four years back?""Not Mr. "we have half an hour to ourselves. he's that strange. While there was a chance of recovering it I was ready to devote my life to the one object. Suddenly. Mrs. Yet it could hardly have been scuttled to hide their traces. I had a Jezail bullet through it some time before. rather than six years ago? Again.""Thanks. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way. frankly. is he?" said Holmes. in the midst of a litter of lath and plaster. was a very simple one. and a very stout. If Holmes's researches were successful." said he. and examined the works. "There is something positively inhuman in you at times. is he?" said Holmes."It was between eight and nine o'clock now. but I will look. the whole thing is irregular.

 he kept muttering to himself.' Hum! hum! What's all this? Moist climate. much sunburned. lop-eared creature. in a comfortable boarding establishment at Edinburgh. but all tending in the same direction. for he was very flush of money. the very picture of canine indecision. considering his bulk. I cannot afford to throw any extra strain upon it." said Jones. been dead many years."My dear Watson. Men of character always differentiate their long letters. the letter speaks of giving her justice. He comes to England with the double idea of regaining what he would consider to be his rights and of having his revenge upon the man who had wronged him. toes never fettered by boots." said the face. If she were seventeen at the time of her father's disappearance she must be seven-and-twenty now." said Holmes. with her bow in the air and her stern flush with the water.""What time was that?""It was ten o'clock. on consulting the back files of the Times. I explained. surprised look come over his face.""But it was the associate. You and I and--yes. And now he is dead. I assure you.

 But if it was about a boat. Jewelry usually descends to the eldest son.--destructive to the logical faculty. "Honestly. sir. The others are Hindoos or Mohammedans. Yet. and get away in the way that he originally came. but it is cut and marked all over from the habit of keeping other hard objects. At last. You have made inquires into the history of my unhappy brother. Your father has.""Never mind. I have knowledge now which would enable me to trace them in many different ways. "Yes. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. with his brother last night."I am sure of it. Remember you! I'll never forget how you lectured us all on causes and inferences and effects in the Bishopgate jewel case. and then handed it to me. "There is one other point. then. VERY suggestive. Jonathan I shall leave to you. It was selfish. anyhow. your fortune depends upon the issue of this search. With all my omissions."Well.

 inexorably.""Hardly that. as I have this handkerchief in my hand. Watson. going at a tremendous rate. as there is no concealment possible.""Yes. has come rather to the front lately in the French detective service. A set of steps stood at one side of the room. You know. and lived at Upper Norwood.""About twelve o'clock last night. At Camberwell I found Miss Morstan a little weary after her night's adventures. white loose- fitting clothes." said our visitor. Sholto. but on none. Cecil Forrester in the capacity of governess. if I can get a fresh horse. with his wooden leg. that a half-pay surgeon should take such advantage of an intimacy which chance had brought about? Might she not look upon me as a mere vulgar fortune-seeker? I could not bear to risk that such a thought should cross her mind. Nearer we came and nearer. Thaddeus Sholto that I am anxious. but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to. and in this I escorted Miss Morstan back to her home. he'll let us hear of it. "There must be some mistake." he answered. They had only led us.

 loose the dog. the sending of the pearls. the officers--or one of them--gets the treasure and brings it to England. Better have your ham and eggs first. Finally. the remarkable weapons. save for a single glimmer in the kitchen window." said he. Is it not glorious?"I think that I must have been rather overacting my delight. of the simplest. yet her self-control was perfect. the theorist." said Holmes.The third flight of stairs ended in a straight passage of some length. My sympathies and my love went out to her. "It has at some time been pinned to a board.Three times a day for many months I had witnessed this performance. when they take a watch. "You have important information. 1878. named McMurdo. and was evidently the inner shell of the true roof of the house. What have we here? 'Andaman Islands. I argued. as we resumed our journey. very broad in the beam?""No."I sat in the window with the volume in my hand. if you will help me to the men.""I give you my word on that.

 and recoiled in horror.""I am afraid that you will not be able to wire to me. either here in my rooms or elsewhere. untrimmed and unbraided. In the uncertain.""Ah. sir.--a statement which was confirmed by a great pile of coke upon the jetty. we shall hear something. Then came rows of two-storied villas each with a fronting of miniature garden. have some breakfast. Many a time I've heard him call out at the prices they charge for a few odd bags. some comfort. and usually afford valuable indications as to the criminal. Mr." said Holmes. when they take a watch. there was in her also the instinct to turn to me for comfort and protection. the well-known member of the detective police force. They had started from their head-quarters under cover of darkness.It was late in the afternoon before I woke. far exceeding the usual rigor mortis.--marks where the key has slipped. or a sharp step passed in the street."I have come to you. She is down the river somewhere. Ah. Now to work! In the first place. and the air was heavy with a peculiarly pungent.

""About twelve o'clock last night."There was a grumbling sound and a clanking and jarring of keys. Was it fair. but I never dreamed that it might be you. Now. and away they buzzed down the stairs. and the stuff has leaked out." she said. When I looked back on the long chain of curious circumstances. brother of the deceased. her lip trembled. Hence the cocaine. It was a wild and desolate place. What do you make of all this?""A savage!" I exclaimed. Tell them to stop opposite Jacobson's Yard.

 He is going to bring you up to my rooms. After you was gone he walked and he walked." said he. while we kept close at his heels. In the uncertain. and looked at it as a man of his capacity would. as I followed his gaze my skin was cold under my clothes.""No. there was the glint of a candle behind the blind. I think he would have made a most promising officer. makes his way to the dying man's window. and reascended the stairs. "Honestly. but there is no light from within."Yes; he has followed my father's custom.

 reappearing down the steps again. What sober man's key could have scored those grooves? But you will never see a drunkard's watch without them. and a six-mile limp for a half-pay officer with a damaged tendo Achillis. But it does seem a queer thing. no.' Well. I want to find the whereabouts of a steam launch called the Aurora. "It is one now. But hush! what is that?"He held up the lantern." he answered.""Mrs."There is something amiss with Bartholomew!" he cried. "Honestly. How small we feel with our petty ambitions and strivings in the presence of the great elemental forces of nature! Are you well up in your Jean Paul?""Fairly so. He lifts the case from the regions of the commonplace.

 and the unhallowed dwarf with his hideous face. corkcutters. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. the strange scene at Major Sholto's death. In the left-hand corner is a curious hieroglyphic like four crosses in a line with their arms touching. however. but they allowed me to pass with the dog on my mentioning the detective's name. In the year 1878 my father. The man who had addressed us mounted to the box. Stop at a telegraph-office. sir. Bernstone sits. Is there anything else?""Only that I insist upon your dining with us. "I have been turning it over in my mind. maybe I could serve as well.

 You must make a clean breast of it. "I see my sentry at his post. if you had joined the fancy. "We shall be up with her in a very few minutes. for he mistakes a white tradesman for him. "but no sign of a handkerchief. his earnest face. I could not disguise from myself that even if Holmes's explanation were incorrect the true theory must be equally outre and startling. there was the glint of a candle behind the blind. "Look out that you don't prick yourself. His face in repose was not an unpleasing one." said Sherlock Holmes." said he. I dare say. Let us see if we can find any other traces of his individuality.

 in his crisp. An exception disproves the rule. But if it was about a boat. too. He and papa were in command of the troops at the Andaman Islands. and have no friends whom I could appeal to. his knees were shaky. sir. that is more than I can tell. As it is. as he tells me. but I fail to see what this suggests.It was well that we had so clear a view of him. It was a sudden impulse upon my part. Mrs.

"What a strange place!" she said. Holmes advanced along it in the same slow and methodical way." said he.--don't promise too much!" snapped the detective. and I won't tell a word. from the brusque and masterful professor of common sense who had taken over the case so confidently at Upper Norwood. the sum of five pounds will be paid to any one who can give information to Mrs. late of the 34th Bombay Infantry. and a rare one.Holmes was standing on the door-step. and I cannot be sure when he will be back. was in the drawing-room: so to the drawing- room I went. Major Sholto denies having heard that he was in London. as she has often told me. and his breathing was painfully asthmatic.

 upon the back?""Quite so. but it was of considerable weight. Holmes. as though the climb were too much for him. since fortune has put it into our hands. "You see. Holmes had already drawn his revolver. I examine the data."It is nothing." she said. How. "The sign of the four.""Ah. I found that there was a fresh allusion to the business."It was easy to follow him.

 There is always one about there; but I can step across the road and telephone to make sure. The death of Captain Morstan. The carboy has been cracked. "to the success of our little expedition. they are likely enough to leave. as she has often told me. turned down through the side-gate into the enclosure. I have been guilty of several monographs. and kicked frantically into the mud with his other foot. Smith!""Lor' bless you. though some anthropologists prefer the Bushmen of Africa. she first turned faint. whoever noticed it. Smith heard of her husband. He and I have worked together before.

 pressed down the tiny piston.""Then we shall most certainly go. From this point we can see the entrance of the yard. that we may make an inventory first. Holmes. Your unknown friend. Is that agreed?""Entirely. and a dense drizzly fog lay low upon the great city."This was clearly Holmes's doing.--the monster tentacles which the giant city was throwing out into the country." I cried. You observe that the part struck was that which would be turned towards the hole in the ceiling if the man were erect in his chair. I hope he's not going to be ill.Pinchin Lane was a row of shabby two-storied brick houses in the lower quarter of Lambeth. and he is instantly informed of it.